Apparatus for tempering glass



1943. L. JEX-B. FORBES El'AL 2,336,170

7 APPARATUS FOR TEMPERING GLASS Filed May'l'l, 1939 :s Sheets-Sheet 1 attain M 5 Dec. 7, 1943 L. JIEX-B. FORBES ET AL: 2,336,170

APPARATUS FOR TE MPERING GLASS Filed ma 17, 1939 s SheetS- -Sheet 2 1943. L. JEX-B. FORBES ETAL. 2,336,170

APPARATUS FOR TEMPERING GLASS Filed May 17, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Dec. 7, 1943 APPARATUS FOR TEMPERING GLASS Lewis Jex-Blake Forbes, Rainhill, and James Heaton, St. Helens, England, assignors to The American Securit Company, Washington, D. 0., a company of Delaware Application May 17, 1939, Serial No.'2'l4,274

In Great Britain May 20, 1938 1 Claim. (01. 49- -45) Thi invention relates to apparatus for tempering glass and has for its object a blowing apparatus provided with means for cutting oif the chilling medium from portions of the apparatus and with means for preventing a sheet of glass being introduced into those portions of the apparatus from whichthe chilling medium has been cut oil. r

The invention is applicable to that form of tempering apparatus in which the glass is loaded,

at a loading station and is then moved into the blowing apparatus and from thence into the furnace and, after heating, is again brought into the blowing apparatus to be chilled, the blowing apparatus consisting of two frames, each having a plurality of tubes and each tube having a plurality of jet orifices, and devices for shutting off the chilling medium from a portion of the plurality of jet orifices.

According to the invention, a member is adapted to be placed in the path of movement of the glass sheets and means, interlocked with the shutting off devices, are provided for so placing the member that it obstructs the movement of any glass sheet which otherwise would enter a portion of the blowing apparatus from which the cooling medium has been shut oil. Further, in an apparatus having horizontal tubes, when the member is placed close below the level of the bottom edge of a given glass sheet, the interlocking means prevent the member being moved below the level of the highest tube of which the valves are closed. Alternatively, a plurality of members adapted to be placed in the path of, movement of the glass sheets are connected with devices for shutting off the chilling medium at some of the jet orifices, so that each member obstructs the movement of a glass sheet into a portion of the blowing apparatus, in which the chilling medium has been shut off at the jet orifices.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a blowing frame, th upper portion of which illustrates only the blowing tubes, and the lower portion of which illustrates only the actuating mechanism for the valves;

Figure 2 is an elevation on a larger scale of a portion of Figure 1 illustrating several of the blowing tubes and their valves and the mechanism for compelling the opening of the valves before a sheet of glass of larger dimensions than previously treated, can be introduced between the blowing frames.

Figure 3 is a section along the line A-A of Figure 2;

Figure 4 'is a section similar to Figure 3 of the device shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 adapted to a blowing frame with vertical blowing tubes;

Figure 5 is a view of the upper part of the frame shown in Figure 1 fitted with another form of device;

Figure 6 is a vertical cross section (on the line 3-3 of Figure 5) on a larger scale showing a portion of the latter device; and

Figure 7 is a view of a portion of one tube fitted with the device seen from the centre plane of the blowing apparatus.

Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the blowing apparatus consists of two oppositely disposed frames, each consisting of two vertical headers l, supplying a plurality of horizontal tubes 2.

The tubes 2 are seen in the upper half of Figure 1, and are continued to the bottom of the headers, but are omitted from the lower half for the sake of clearness in the drawings. Each tube 2 has a plurality of jet orifices, the spacing of the jet orifices being commonly equalto the spacing of the tubes. The two headers I are supplied with chilling medium by th pipe 3 and cross pipe 4. The glass sheet 5 is transferred from a loading station to the left of the blowing frame, into a position between the two blowing frames and from there is moved into the furnace, which may be either below the blowing frames or to the right of them. The centre line 6 in Figure 3 indicates the path of the glass sheet.

The blower tubes 2 are each provide with two valves-l whereby the supply of chilling medium from the two headers I may be shut off. In the apparatus shown, about half the tubes 2 may be shut off from the headers, so that glass sheets of height down to about half the maximum height may be tempered without waste of chilling medium.

Now when a number of tubes 2 have been shut ofi to suit glass sheets of a certain height, and a succession of sheets of this height is followed by a sheet of greater height, it has been found that the operator may not notice the increase in height or may forget to open the valves I to those tubes 2 which are needed to chill the sheet of greater height. In such event the sheet of greater height is not tempered throughout. The devices which are the object of the invention are for the purpose of obviating inadvert- The two valves 1 at the end of a tube 2 are connected together by a bar 8, so-that, when the arm 8 on a valve 1 at the right (Figure 2) is depressed to close the valve, the valve at the left is also ,called the guard rail. The guard rail I4 may be moved to any position, the lugs I3 sliding along the rods I I and remaining in position by friction. The bars 8 are so placed with reference to the angle irons I2, and guard rail I4, that the angle irons obstruct the movement to the left of those bars 8 which are above the guard rail. Thereby, the valves 1 on those tubes 2 which are above the guard rail I4 cannot be closed. Referring to Figure 1, if the glass sheet She brought into a position above the guard rail l4 and the guard rail be moved upwards until it is close to the bottom edge of the sheet, the valves 1 on the tubes which are not needed for chilling the sheet (the nine lowest) can be closed, but the valves on the tubes needed for chilling the sheet cannot be closed.

If now, after the sheet 5 has been tempered, a sheet of greater height is brought to the frame, this will strike the guard rail I4, unless the operator has opened the valves on the lower tubes necessary for chilling it, and has lowered the guard rail. The guard rail I4, moreover, cannot be lowered until the valves 1 on the tubes 2 below it have been opened so as to move the bars 8 to enables narrow sheets as well as sheets of small height to be chilled without undue waste of chill-- ing medium.

Each tube 2 in the upper part of the frame has I embracing it four spring steel clips Each clip I! has two lips l8 and I9, between which about one quarter of the periphery of the tube is exposed. Figure 6 is a vertical section of the blowing apparatus, showing only two tubes 2 of the left hand and right hand blowing frames.

In Figure 6 the full line positions show the jets I 20 open for the blowing operation and the tongues the right, out of the path of the angle irons I2.

Figure 4 shows a slightly modified form of the device applied to a blowing apparatus in which the jet tubes 2 are vertical and the headers I horizontal. It is applicable to apparatus in which the glass sheet is moved from the blowing apparatus downwards into the furnace. The two rods I I are horizontal, above the headers I and the lugs l3 carry bars I5 connected by bar Hi to which the guardrail I4 is attached. The guard rail descends between the blowing frames so as to lie in the path of the sheet 5 Valves 1 admit and cut off the admission of chilling fluid to the tube 2. The valves of each tube are connected by the bars 8 The operation of the device is similar to that described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3.

An alternative form of device is shown in Figures 5, 6 and '7, applicable to cases in which it is desired to shut oi the chilling medium from a part of each tube in a frame with horizontal jet tubes. Shut off valves are undesirable for this purpose, because unless each tube is supplied from both ends, there is an undue variation in pressure in the jet tubes. The device, therefore operates to close jet orifices in the tubes. It is shown in Figure 5 applied to the upper part of frame as in Figure 1, and a frame so constructed 2| out of the path of the sheet. The dotted line when the clip is turned to open the jet orifices 20 takes up the position shown on the left and right of Figure. 6. When the orifices are closed, the tongues 2| extend into the path of sheet of glass 5, and prevent the sheet being moved into a position in which any portion of it lies between closed orifices. In practice, orifices facing one another are always-either both closed or both open. In Figure 5, the clips I1 are shown diagrammatically, each by a rectangle with two diagonals. The two left hand clips on each tube 2 are understood to be in a position in which the orifices are I open and the two right hand clips in a position in which the orifices are closed. One clip I! is separated from the adjacent clip by a collar 22.

When it is desired to close the orifices which are not needed to chill a sheet, the sheet is brought into position between the blowing frames, and then unneeded orifices are closed by turning the clips I'l. If, through inadvertence, a clip is turned to close orifices which are needed, the operators attention is called by the tongue 2| striking the sheet.

Having described our invention, we declare that what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In apparatus for tempering glass sheets, the combination of a plurality of oppositely disposed blowing units each including a plurality of tubes having a series of nozzles, a valve for admitting and excluding air from each of said tubes, a movable element adjacent the entrance end of the blowing units and placed in the path of movement of the sheet of glass to said units, an arm extending from each of said valves into the path of movement of said element when said valves are closed and movable out of the path of movement of the element whereupon the valves are opened so as to permit a movement of the element to admit the sheet of glass to the blowing units.

- LEWIS JEX-BLAKE FORBES.

JAMES HEATON. 

